“Temescal shop answers Oaklanders’ scream for Tara’s Ice Cream”

October 12 2010

Graffiti-covered folding chairs sit outside a narrow shop on bustling Telegraph Avenue. From the window, lined with colorful paper lanterns, an abstract floral painting drapes the wall over thin white benches where people of all ages pause for a minute to indulge in a Bay Area specialty.

This is the Temescal location of Tara's Organic Ice Cream, a New Mexico-born ice creamery serving all natural, locally made treats with unlikely flavors. Ever heard of garam marsala ice cream? How about basil? Or blueberry mint? You can try those and more at Tara's, depending on what's in season. And if you don't do ice cream, never fear, she also offers an array of fruity sorbets.

Tara moved to the Bay Area from the southwest in 2008 and she brought her ice cream with her. She opened her first location here, in Berkeley and opened the Temescal shop earlier this year. Though small, the new shop is already attracting new fans.

“...Tara Esperanza, owner of Tar's Organic Ice Cream finds inspiration for her Willy Wonka-like ice cream flavors by running into the wilds.... her latest all-natural treat started with a whiff of trailside rosemary, which she later combined with caramelized pear and allspice. "It's heavenly," she says (we agree.) ” -National Geographic Adventure Magazine